Reflections of Reformed Late Adaptor (aka Tech Challenged Colleague)

I took yesterday off, well, not really, as I found myself reflecting on many of the topics we covered in class.  I loved video editing and am quite surprised with myself that I can do it, but more importantly that I am understanding how the concept works.  Which, for me, is much more critical than what button to push.  If I understand the concept, I can figure out the right buttons. 

So, that was cool.  But what really stuck in my mind was the discussion, or question we had about why we seem to be so willing to collaborate socially, but see very little of this carried over into the work world.  I've got a couple of things noodling around in my head.  I'll try not to get too deep, but I think some of this just might be.

Photo courtesy of momentscaptured 1.

I'm wondering if social media allows us to do things that we would never give ourselves the leeway to do face to face or with those that ultimately judge us in terms of performance reviews.  Sort of the 'dance when no one is watching, sing when no one is listening' approach to life.  As I write that, it makes me feel rather sad.  But, I think that it is exactly how many of us feel in our work lives.  And, honestly, it is something I subscribe to and I think many of us have as we've chatted about the challenges of blogging.  How many of us have thought, "I don't have anything to write about that anyone else would find interesting."  How many of us have found ourselves nervous before hitting that darn publish post button.  So, maybe it's a natural human phenomenon. 

Then we find someone like Ze Frank who is asking us to be a part of something new and different, something that is, on the surface, carefree and whimsical.  We are interested and get involved.  But, it's involvement without any strings attached, isn't it?  No one will be copying it down and using it in our performance review.  No one will be tucking it away and making a perception that might be pulled out in a job interview down the line.  No one even knows it's you.  It's safe, it's fun and it's free.  How many of us work in a climate we could describe as that?  Even the most positive organizational climates probably don't have those words attached.  Although it would be cool, wouldn't it?

So, I'm wondering if we are wiling to let ourselves go behind the curtain of our screen name in the pursuit of individual fulfillment.  But, when we walk through the doors of work, we assume a different armour, one which fits nicely into the corporate structure, but might not fit the real us very well.  But we make due until we can go home and fill our bucket again. 

The trick from a personal perspective is to marry the two, right?  The trick, from an organizational perspective, is to figure out how to find that passion that we are beginning to realize is sitting right in front of us and direct it towards solving some of the rather challenging issues that face us in the work world.  The problem is, none of them are really as exciting as taking a walk down an old path on Google Earth or writing a Haiku about a dog that was recently neutered.